Detailed subsurface mapping and structural analysis of El-Gindi basin indicate the hydrocarbon potentiality of
the Cretaceous reservoirs. El-Gindi basin is a Late Cretaceous-Eocene basin located at El-Fayium district,
northeastern Western Desert of Egypt. The overwhelming impact of the Late Cretaceous wrench tectonics was
evident during the inversion of the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rift-related basins along the North Western Desert
of Egypt and subsequent deposition of a thick succession of Eocene sediments (~6000 ft Apollonia Formation)
within El-Gindi Basin. These tectonic events were developing the oil maturity and trapping through the Late
Cretaceous reservoir sequences, Upper Bahariya Formation (Cenomanian) and the Abu Roash “G” Member
(Turonian). The Gindi Fault, however, is a NW-trending basement feature breaching El-Gindi basin and
bounding several deeper half grabens in the western half of El-Fayium district. It has been reactivated during the
Cretaceous, Eocene and probably Oligocene-Early Miocene times, where extended northwestward to the Qarun
Field at the footslopes of the Kattaniya inverted basin forming several oil traps along its strike. The Late
Cretaceous dextral wrenching developed a regional system of ENE-oriented structural ridges such as Kattaniya
and Silah (bounded El-Gindi basin to the north and south, respectively), associated with a series of NE-to ENEoriented
right-lateral strike-slip faults enclosing some structural closures in between. The development of such
ridges causing regional subsidence and subsequent deposition of the Apollonia Formation creating several
structural hydrocarbon traps. In addition, the structural closures formed between the ends of right-lateral strikeslip
faults at Silah High became potential sites for hydrocarbon accumulation. The thermal maturity model of El-
Gindi basin suggests a phase of hydrocarbon expulsion occurred during or immediately after deposition of the
Apollonia Formation, where the Lower and Upper Cretaceous sediments passing the oil window. According to
the analysis of well cores, E-logs and seismic data, shallow marine to deltaic environments have been assigned
for the Cenomanian-Turonian reservoir sediments. Moreover, the deposition within channels, point-bars and
estuarine environments for the hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs within El-Gindi Basin was identified. |
